Integral roof sheet and hatch frame



Aug- 28, 1951 A. l... THOMPSON INTEGRAL RooE SHEET AND HATCH FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed OCT.. 26, 1949 IN VEN TOR W50/Z, M w

Aug. 28, 1951 A. i..v THOMPSON INTEGRAL ROOF' SHEET AND HATCH FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26, 1949 INVENTOR.

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#uuml Patented Aug. 28, 1951 INTEGRAL ROOF SHEET AND HATCH FRAMEv Alfred L. Thompson, Munster, Ind., assignor to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Dela- Application OctoberZG, 1949, Serial No. 123,758

This invention relates to railway refrigerator cars, and more particularly to overhead bunker cars wherein a plurality of refrigerant containers are supported in spaced relation immediately below the roof of the car.

Heretofore metal car roofs for refrigerator cars have been made wherein the roof sheets span from side plate to side plate of the car and had their adjacent side margins flanged up and covered with a seam cap to form a seam construction that served the purpose of an outside carline. In this type of roof it was old to out a hatch opening in the roof sheet and mount a hatch frame in said opening; but for this purpose it was necessary tosupport the hatch frame by supplemental inside carlines, sometimes called ladder carlines, that extended from side plate to side plate and by purlins extending between the carlines on opposite sides of the hatch frame under the roof sheet.

The invention is also applicable to provide a roof for a hopper car by the use of which hopper cars may then carry cement, lime or other material which it is necessary to keep dry during transit.

In the manufacture of railway freight cars it is desirable and economical to have as few parts as possible so as to simplify and expedite the as sembly of such parts into a complete car. It is likewise expensive and slow to make numerous and sundry parts, especially when they must be made in various types of manufacturing plants, such as foundries and steel fabrioators, and then all such parts shipped to the car manufacturer for assembly into the oars being built.

The ordinary hatch plugs for use with such roof sheets are usually composed of inner and outer spaced pan shaped metal portions with insulation therebetween and weigh, for an average sized hatch opening, approximately one hundred and thirty-live pounds. This is considerable weight for one man to handle when lifting the hatch plugs as when the ice tanks are tobe loaded, and, consequently, it is desired that these plugs be made as light as possible. A hatch plug made in accordance with my hereinafter described hatch plug is roughly one hundred pounds lighter than the standard hatch plug now available and saves an appreciable amount in the total weight of the finished car.

My invention has for its object the formation of a roof sheet and hatch frames as an integral unit pressed from a single sheet of material and to so form said unit that it has suilicient inherent strength to support itself in the roof structure l Claims. (Cl. 105-377) without the necessity of inside ladder carlines, doing away with said carlines entirely, saving the weight thereof, and the large cost of assembling ladder carlines, and hatch frames into the car roof structure, and to provide a lightweight, economical hatch plug therefor.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the improved roof Sheet having the hatch frames integrally formed therein and with a lightweight plug applied to one of said hatch frames.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2, Fig. 1, omitting the hatch plugs and side plates.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the plugs.

The invention is shown as embodied in a car having metal side plates of substantially Z-shaped cross section, which extend from Aend to end of the car and have a portion I disposed substantially. horizontally to rest upon and be secured to the tops of longitudinally spaced vertical side posts (not shown) of the car. From the outer edges of lsaid portion l depends a flange 2 which overlaps the upper outer edge of said posts, and at the inner edge of said portion I an upstanding flange 3 is provided, it having a laterally turned reflange 4 extending in the plane of the roof of the car.

The invention has to do with those sheets of a railway car roof wherein hatch frames are located, and consequently these particular sheets of a railway car roof only will be described.

These hatch frame roof sheets span the car from side plate to side plate, and conform to the general shape of thecar roof having a ridge portion 5 transversely thereof conforming to the ridge of the roof, and the roof sheet slopes downwardly on opposite sides of said ridge portion 5 to the side plates, and the ends thereof rest upon and are secured to the lateral flange 4 of said side plate by a row of rivets 6. The side of the hatch sheet adjacent the end of the car is formed with a downturned flange 'l which is adapted to overlap and be secured to the upper margin 9 of the end wall and be secured thereto, as is common, and the other side of said sheet is formed with an upstanding flange B adapted to abut a similar flange of an adjacent sheet and be covered with a seam cap, securing said flanges and caps together, all as is common in the art.

For years manufacturers of roof sheets have attempted to integrally form hatch frames therein but'have been unable todo so because the of reciprocatingr dies used. The hatch frames thus pressed in the roof sheet are in the formof an upstanding boss having downwardly and out wardly sloping outside walls I2 and downwardly' and inwardly sloping inside walls I3 spaced from the outside walls, said inside and outside 'walls being connected by a shoulder or web I4 which slopes 'outwardly and'upwardly Vand forms a seat 'for thelhereina'fter 'described cover vor plug for said hatch opening. The embossment forming the 'hatch frame is pressed almost in its entirety to one side of the general plane of the roof sheet and when said sheet is .applied to the car is upstan'ding from Vsaid roof. The lower margin of Ythe inner wall I3 projects below the general plane of the roof gfotherwise, the entire hatch frame is Vabove `the general plane Yof the roof. `section said embossment is'substantially'a downwardly facing channel, extending continuously about the hatch opening, and .each vhatcnframe v-isapproximately midway'between vthe ridge and eaves portion of Athe sheet. FromV experience in the pressing -of the `herein described roof sheet 'and hatch. frame Yunitiit'h'as beenifound that, with 'present practices vatleast, the .depth'of theY hatch frame'cannot be morel than approximately 'three rinches, because `the :material would 'tear'. if '5a' tegrally `withinY the roof sheet itself provides 'an every -strong .roof sheetfwhich'when joined with adjacent sheets vand to the car side nplates, is a'rriplystrong to support itself within .the ventire -carroof structure, requiring no lcarlines or purlins whatever to support the same, but the function fosai'dcarlines and purlins is .retained inherently lin .the sheet itself. The Ysaving in weight per carof vthe purlins and carlines heretofore considered absolutely necessary is very considerable.

The-hatch plug shown for use with said hatch frames comprises va pan shaped bottom member `VI 5 having rounded corners and outwardly divergling side walls .I S with outturned marginal `flanges II which terminate into downturned reilanges I8. 'sheet having a nat body portion I9 `spannin'g across the 'bottom member between the Iouter ledges'of flanges A'I'I, and the outer fianged margin 20 of Vsaid portion I9 `is turned Ydown vover and rests atly againstv reange I8` and is bonded thereto.V These l-two members are formedv of plastic material which is durable 'and is `not affected Aby salt, acid, alkali, soot, cinders, or atmospheric temperatures. -A metallic stiifening `angle-21 is provided on the-under surface-of the -body portion I9 of the top member, said angle 2| Abeing of U or horseshoe-shape and one flange 22:"thereof being disposed iiatwise against the inner vsurface of the top member I9. VSpaced registeringholesareprovided through -saidwange In cross The top member of the plug comprises a and the adjacent body portion I9, through which extend bolts 23, the heads of said bolts being welded to said flange with the shank of said bolt projecting through the body portion for application of fixtures thereto. A straight reinforcing angle 24 is also provided across the base of said lang'le'ZI with'one flangethereof disposed flatwise against the inner surface of said body portion and is provided with bolts 25 extending through said `angle 24 and the body I9 of said top member,

similarto bolts 23. vExtending through flanges I8 and 20 on opposite sides of the plug are also provided bolts 26 and`21 also for application of fixtures for securing the plug to the hatch frame and adjacent car roof. The space between the bottom I5 and top I9 members of the plug is filled "with a .suitableinsulating material, indicated at 30, and a gasket 3I is bonded to the under side of flangeY vII to seat upon flange I4 of the hatch frame.

Ordinary hatch plug hinges 32 are secured 'along one side of'the plug to hingedly secure the plug tothe roof, as shown, and along the opposite sidesare secured thestops 33, handle 34 and lock 35, all of which are common in such structures.

'The'bottom andtop members of this hatch plug 'are formed of plastic material and the insulation is also of `plastic material and the weight of such aplugis Aapproximately one hundred pounds less than the ordinary plug constructed of steel.V

l. A'roof sheet for a railway car roof consisting rof'a single sheet of material having a hatch opening vformed therein and an upstanding boss formed therein'integral therewith about the marginsfof sai'dopening forming a'hatch frame v'for said opening, said boss provided with downwardly and outwardly 'sloping outside walls andidownwardly -andinwardly sloping inside walls, 'said inside and outside walls being connected by van 'outwardly and upwardly sloping shoulder form- Ninga seat 'for a cover for said opening, vthe depth of "sai'dboss being approximately three inches.

2. A roof sh'eet'for a vrailway car roof consisting of a single sheet of material having a hatch 'opening vformed itherein 'and an upstanding .boss formed'thereinintegral therewith about the mai'- Agin's 'of said opening forming a hatch frame for said opening, said boss provided with downwardly and outwardly sloping outside walls and downwardly and inwardly sloping inside walls, said inside and outside walls being connected by an outwardly and upwardly slopingshoulder forming a seatfor a Vcover for said opening, said boss .an.inc1ined ..shoulder.connecting. .said walls, the

`depth of. said. vboss being. approximately three Y inches..

4. A roof sheet for a railway-.car formed from a :at..metallic sheet having flanges -formedat the side v'margins thereof extending substantiallynor- Amal thereto for attachment to adjacent sheet flanges orfendl plates; ar hatch -opening in .said

sheetand :an upstanding fembossment about :said

opening integrally formed therewith, constructed, shaped and arranged so as to provide inherently within said sheet sucient strength to support itself in the roof structure, said embossrnent comprising upwardly converging outer walls, upwardly diverging inner walls spaced from said outer walls, the upper edges of said inner and outer Walls being connected by a shoulder forming a seat for a hatch plug for said hatch opening, the

depth of said embossment'being approximately 10 Number three inches.

5. A roof sheet for a railway car roof comprising a single sheet of material having a hatch opening formed therein and an upstanding boss formed by a single pressing integrally within said sheet about the margins of said opening, said boss projecting partly above and partly below 6 the general plane of said roof sheet. the depth of The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS K Name Date 1,018,041 Evensen Feb. 20, 1912 2,011,816 Leppla Aug. 20, 1913 2,238,700 Lundvall Apr. 15, 1941 2,239,033 Cartmill Apr. 22, 1941 2,308,468 Lundvall Jan. 12, 1943 2,316,265 Lundvall Apr. 13, 1943 2,333,879 OConnor Nov. 9, 1943 

